Fayetteville Developer Arrested on Fraud Charges

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Former Northwest Arkansas high-priced developer Brandon Barber has been arrested in New York and faces fraud charges, along with his Fayetteville lawyer, according to U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge's office.

A grand jury in Fort Smith handed down fraud indictments to Barber, along with four other men. K. Vaughn Knight, of Fayetteville, and James Van Doren, of New York, were also named in the indictment, along with Jeff Whorton and Brandon Rains.

Barber faces 27 counts of various fraud charges and, if given the maximum penalties, could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Knight is Barber's attorney. He faces several charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, as well as money laundering.

Barber has been the subject of investigations in recent years into how he was able to accumulate millions of dollars in debt and avoid his creditors.

One of Barber's entities, Lynnkohn LLC, filed for bankruptcy in 2008, after which Barber filed for bankruptcy and allegedly hid assets from creditors and the court, according to the indictment.

Barber also has several unresolved debt cases in the area for millions of dollars, including such plaintiffs as Arvest Bank, EMW Enterprises, Simmons First Bank of Northwest Arkansas and First State Bank of Northwest Arkansas, according to court documents.

Bill Clark, who represents Arvest Bank in its case against Barber, told 5NEWS the debt case remains unresolved and he is not sure how Barber's recent arrest will impact any potential resolution.

Calls by 5NEWS to Knight's law office in Fayetteville have gone unanswered so far Wednesday.